Caballitos de totora are reed watercraft used by fishermen in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

for the past 3000 years, archaeologically evidenced from pottery shards. Named for the way they are ridden, straddled ('little reed horses' in English), fishermen use them to transport their nets and collect fish in their inner cavity. The name is not the original name, as horses were not introduced to South America until after the

Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, also known as the Conquest of Peru, was one of the most important campaigns in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. After years of preliminary exploration and military skirmishes, 168 Spanish sol ...

. The ancient Mochica name of the watercraft is ''tūp''. They are made from the same reed, the totora (''Schoenoplectus californicus'' subsp. ''tatora''), used by the

Uru people The Uru or Uros ( ure, Qhas Qut suñi) are an indigenous people of Bolivia. They live on an approximate and still growing 120 self-fashioned floating islands in Lake Titicaca near Puno. They form three main groups: the Uru-Chipaya, Uru-Murato ...

Lake Titicaca Lake Titicaca (; es, Lago Titicaca ; qu, Titiqaqa Qucha) is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. By volume of water and by surface area, ...

, and considered part of the Peruvian's National Cultural Heritage since 2016.

Current use

Fishermen in the port town of

Huanchaco Huanchaco is a popular seaside resort city in province of Trujillo, Peru. Huanchaco is known for its surf breaks, its caballitos de totora and its ceviche, and is near the ancient ruins of Chan Chan. Huanchaco was approved as a World Surfing Res ...

famously, but in many other locations practically, still use these vessels to this day, riding the waves back into shore, and suggesting some of the first forms of wave riding. There is currently a minor debate in the surfing world as to whether or not this constitutes the first form of

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

. Fishers have made minimal changes in the basic designs of the reed boats over the centuries. On the beach of Pimentel, near the city of Chiclayo, crafters had added Styrofoam to give symmetrical forms and to create a water-impermeable floatation compartment. HumedalesHuanchaco1

The

Swamps of Huanchaco Swamps of Huanchaco, also known as ''Wetlands of Huanchaco'' is an ecological Chimu reserve located in Huanchaco Beach, about 14 km northwest of Trujillo city, Peru. From this ecological reserve the ancient mochica extracted the raw material ...

are an

ecological reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

about northwest of the historic center of

Trujillo, Peru Trujillo (; qu, Truhillu) is a city in coastal northwestern Peru and the capital of the Department of La Libertad. It is the third most populous city and center of the List of metropolitan areas of Peru, third most populous metropolitan area of P ...

. From this ecological reserve, people extracted the raw material for the manufacture of the ancient ''caballitos de totora'' used since the time of the

Moche culture The Moche civilization (; alternatively, the Mochica culture or the Early, Pre- or Proto-Chimú) flourished in northern Peru with its capital near present-day Moche, Trujillo, Peru from about 100 to 700 AD during the Regional Development Epoch. ...

for fishing.

fishermen still use materials from these swamps to make their fishing boats.

References

* Roberto Argüello
Caballitos de totora.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caballito De Totora Water transport in Peru Indigenous topics of the Andes